Aussie, Kiwi Hold Steady Vs. Stronger Greenback
1/11/2018 10:50:13 AM


Investing-
The Australian and New Zealand dollars held steady against their U.S. counterpart on Wednesday, as expectations for a number of U.S. rate hikes this year continued to lend support to the greenback.

AUD/USD was little changed at 0.7819.

The greenback remained after San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Saturday that the Fed should raise interest rates three times this year given that economy will benefit from tax cuts.

The comments came a day after Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she expects about four interest rate hikes this year, thanks to solid U.S. economic growth and low unemployment.

NZD/USD held steady at 0.7167.

Market participants were also eyeing the release of U.S. inflation data due on Friday, for clues on the potential pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 92.23 by 02:00 a.m. ET (06:00 GMT), just off Tuesday's one-week high of 92.36.